Welcome to Afronerd!
A new and needed web sanctuary for people of color with intellectual and artistic pursuits. In this blog we will be addressing interesting and varied subjects, i.e. current national/world affairs, culture, science, religion, politics, entertainment and literature(including graphic novels a/k/a comic books.....yes comics). We hope you enjoy the exchange of ideas.
Peace & Godspeed.

Mission

Welcome to Afronerd! A new and needed web sanctuary for people of color with intellectual and artistic pursuits. In this blog we will be addressing interesting and varied subjects, i.e. current national/world affairs, culture, science, religion, politics, entertainment and literature(including graphic novels a/k/a comic books.....yes comics). We hope you enjoy the exchange of ideas. Peace & Godspeed

Monday, September 29, 2008

Well as usual, behind the scenes machinations here at Afronerd can sometimes cause a delay with our regular schedule, but unfortunately it can not be avoided. The above video serves as a perfect example. For those unfamiliar with this blog's mantra, we attempt to showcase alternative Black culture with the goal of dismantling the alleged African-American monolith. Enter young master Yitzchak (Y-Love) Jordan- a hip hop artist on the rise who is Hasidic and African-American. His journey is definitely an interesting one, so stay tuned for our interview with him as soon as his schedule opens up. Here's more on Y-Love, courtesy of a recent NY Daily News piece:

He dodged bullets on a streetcorner. He watched his mother die from a cocaine addiction. But Flatbush's Yitzchak (Y-Love) Jordan is more Hasidic than 'hood.

New York's only known black ultra-Orthodox Jewish rapper left his native Baltimore at 21 for Brooklyn, converting to a religion that drew him into a far different world.

Jordan, now 29, travels the globe rhyming his views - as a black man and a Jew.

"The entire way I look at the world is a fusion between Baltimore and Brooklyn," said Jordan last week, finishing a performance at the Knitting Factory in Tribeca.

"Being black affects everything," he said. "I had kids stare at me like I was a gremlin in Borough Park."

In the song, "From Brooklyn to Ramle," Jordan raps about straddling two worlds:The same racist systems create the same victims

Half-hour in the pizzeria, they ain't even ask me, man ... hattan I could spend 1/2 hour hailing taxis

That's how I live on the daily

Black man Haredi [ultra-Orthodox]

Can't let these haters faze me 'cuz if I did, I'd go insane!

If Jordan's real-life story weren't rare enough, he raps in a mix of English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, Latin and Aramaic - a homage to his love of the Torah and other old-school godly texts.

Meanwhile, let's get into tomorrow's (7pm eastern) broadcast. You guys know our drill-give us a buzz "live" at 646-915-9620 or via IM/email-afronerdradio@yahoo to converse and analyze the following: a Hollywood exec thinks Oscar winner Forest Whitaker is too ugly, Black and unbankable to star in said exec's movie; the House says "nay" to the bailout and our predictions for the Thursday's VP debate. So as always...Be there, Square and certainly not "ugly."

And for more of the Daily News' take on Y-Love, click on the link below:

WASHINGTON (Sept. 29) - The House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering financial industry.Stocks plummeting on Wall Street even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was announced on the House floor.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., center, announced Sunday that lawmakers and members of the Bush administration reached an agreement on an unprecedented $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street. Go inside the gallery to get the details on the plan and reaction.

When the critical vote was tallied, too few members of the House were willing to support the unpopular measure with elections just five weeks away. Ample no votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle.Bush and a host of leading congressional figures had implored the lawmakers to pass the legislation despite howls of protest from their constituents back home.The bailout puts in place an unprecedented federal program to buy up rotten assets from cash-starved firms. The goal is to free up choked credit that was threatening to cause broader market turmoil.A key architect conceded the bill's unpopularity."Many of us feel that the national interest requires us to do something which is, in many ways, unpopular," said Rep. Barney Frank, the Financial Services Committee chairman. "It is hard to get political credit for avoiding something that has not yet happened."

Stocks crushedDow down 778, worst point drop ever, after the House rejects the $700 billion bank bailout plan.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks skidded Monday afternoon, with the Dow's nearly 778-point drop being the worst single-day point loss ever, after the House rejected the government's $700 billion bank bailout plan

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Afronerd Radio returns in full effect next week to discuss a number of pertinent issues but the Palin-Biden debate and its aftermath must be discussed-so stay tuned. Meanwhile, let's talk about my perfect fusion moment.....when politics and comicdom merge. One of our readers emailed us a few days ago highlighting some recent comments made by former Marvel Comics president, Stan Lee concerning Will Smith, Captain America and black imagery. For the record, I am a big supporter of Mr. Lee and no true graphic novel aficionado worth his weight in gold would say anything disparaging against someone with such a legendary resume-but Will Smith as Cap? This casting rumor has been discussed and debunked on Afronerd before but Lee is not exactly dispelling the thought. Here's Lee at his best, courtesy of Starpulse.com:

Stan Lee Wants To Make Will Smith A Black Captain America - Sort Of

Stan LeeComic book creator Stan Lee wants to make Will Smith the first black Captain America - if Barack Obama wins the presidential election. A movie version of the Marvel graphic novel is being planned for 2011.

Matthew McConaughey's name has been linked with the role - but Lee hints it could go to Smith, if Obama becomes the first black president.

Lee tells Moviefone, "I would love us to do something with Will Smith. It would be a real leap to make Captain America black... then again, I don't know. It might be a really smart thing. If Barack Obama becomes President who knows... suddenly a lot of our characters will be black!"

If I am to be completely candid-I, too, have wondered just how long could the current state of African-American imagery remain in "minstrel stasis," if the leader of the free world is a man of color. Mr. Lee may be overstating the matter for the sake of political correctness, but is he on to something? I'm not sure about Smith as Captain America unless Kyle Baker's The Truth retcon storyline was introduced for the movie but the part about expanded Black characterization in comics (and dare we say beyond) might be what the doctor ordered. Tell us what you think about Lee's assertions. Is he blowing smoke (from the Terrigen Mists....excuse the geek humor)?

And did anyone catch Chris Rock on 106 & Park? It appears that his brand of humor went over the heads of the rocket scientists that inhabit the place but he was able to slyly defecate on the minstrel network nonetheless-

And lastly, our conservative leanings (and oxymoronic support for Senator Obama)
notwithstanding....does anyone believe Palin has a chance against Biden after the poor performance displayed above? It's less about being conservative at this juncture and more about being competent. Unless Palin is giving the public (and more specifically, her evangelical base) a serious mind-f*#k-I will be shocked if the governor doesn't do a Stockdale......is it 1992 all over again?

Sunday, September 21, 2008

If you have been keeping up with the radio side of Afronerd for the last couple of days, we highlighted an n-word debate that took place on a recent Dr. Phil Show. I was fortunate enough to find the broadcast in question, so take a gander at the airing in its entirety and share your opinions with the class.

Next up, is another email submission to our attention, courtesy of Sergio from Bloodsport blog. Although I readily confess that I am not a fan of religious diatribe and cadence (aka the Farrakhan whisper) , Pastor Bryant did encapsulate the current political scene with a great deal of accuracy.

And pursuant to a suggestion by Mr. Starks, we will try our best to get an interview with educator Jane Elliott of the infamous Blue Eyed documentary. If we are able to interview this courageous teacher, this may be one for the afronerdic history books. We may not agree fully with her precepts but it's sure to be informative.

Here's Ms. Elliott doing what she does best-

And just for kicks, click on this full length movie. It's pretty funny and not politically correct but it is a shout out to geekdom and pretty amusing.

Oh and one more thing....can CNN stop interviewing so called authentic Black folk? The "crack dealer turned hip hop artist" aesthetic has been done to death. We have people of color building time machines, promulgating Georgian-Russian detentes and pursuing presidential power and this is the best the media can come up with? Enough already!

First off, I hope you guys enjoyed our interview with Dr. Mallett on Afronerd Radio this evening. So let's continue the nerdic vibe by "chopping it up" on tomorrow'sComic Shoppe broadcast. Join Daryll, Max and I as we talk about the long awaited return of Heroes. We will also talk about the new Wolverine & The X-Men animated series and of course converse about the latest comic news including our favorite graphic novel reads from last week. So feel free to call in at 7pm "live" 646-200-0104 or via email/IM-thecomicshoppe@yahoo. And in the immortal words of Prince Namor-Imperius Rexbrothers!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

I really can't get into this but I will leave it to our commenters to decipher the meaning of this affront to Senator Obama. What do these protesters want from Obama? And why must only Obama (a definite nod to tribalism) be the recipient of such vitriol? Can't these same individuals approach McCain with these gripes? And hasn't anyone told these foolish young men that Senator Obama is attempting to access power and has not yet attained it; if he's successful, perhaps he might be in a position to address their concerns. I'm just sayin'-what say you all?

A double hat tip (the above video is also from the Sandra Rose blog) goes to resident commenter/blogger Sergio of the Bloodsport site for emailing this clip to our attention. Normally, I would go into a long diatribe as it relates to these children and their lack of parenting but I'm just too tired to wax about the obvious. But this does remind me of an excellent piece that was recently written by the great conservative scholar, Thomas Sowell. Here's an excerpt from the article in question, courtesy of the RealClearPolitics.com:

Apparently there are middle-class blacks who spend a lot of time and energy worrying about losing their roots and losing touch with their black brothers back in the 'hood.

In one sense, it is good that there are people who think about others less fortunate than themselves. That's fine but, like most good things, it can be carried to the point where it is both ridiculous and counterproductive for all concerned.

In a world where an absolute majority of black children are born and raised in fatherless homes, where most black kids never finish high school and where the murder rate among blacks is several times the national average, surely there must be more urgent priorities than preserving a lifestyle and an identity.

During decades of researching racial and ethnic groups in countries around the world-- with special attention to those who began in poverty and then rose to prosperity-- I have yet to find one so preoccupied with tribalistic identity as to want to maintain solidarity with all members of their group, regardless of what they do or how they do it.

Any group that rises has to have norms, and that means repudiating those who violate those norms, if you are serious. Blind tribalism means letting the lowest common denominator determine the norms and the fate of the whole group.

There was a time when most blacks, like most of the Irish or the Jews, understood this common sense. But that was before the romanticizing of identity took over, beginning in the 1960s.

Back in 19th century America, the Catholic Church took on the task of changing the behavior of the poverty-stricken Irish immigrants, in order to prepare them to rise in American society. As this transformation succeeded, employers' signs that said "No Irish Need Apply" began to disappear in the 20th century.

The Jewish community likewise made many efforts to change the behavior of immigrants from Eastern Europe, to enable them to better fit into American society-- and to rise in that society.

I took a break for a few days not so much due to a dearth of subject matter but to just take a respite from the inundatory entity known as the political process. So let's take a break from election talk (ok....at least partially) and discuss scientific theorems instead. Drop by tomorrow evening at 7:00pm as Mr. Starks and I interview Dr. Ronald Mallett concerning his fascinating book entitled Time Traveler. We highlighted Dr. Mallett's story previously here on Afronerd, having just learned that Spike Lee acquired the film rights to Traveler, hopefully ensuring that Mallett's tale makes it to the silver screen. And if time permits, during the second half of the broadcast we will also get into our Week in Review segment. So just like the Nike ads, call us with your comments/questions and just do it-at 646-915-9620 or via email/IM-afronerdradio@yahoo. And remember until Dr. Mallett gets the flux capacitor fully functional-Be Square and Be there (CP time will finally be eradicated).

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles.

The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about two and one-half percentage points.

Certainly, Republican John McCain has his own obstacles: He's an ally of an unpopular president and would be the nation's oldest first-term president. But Obama faces this: 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.

More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can't win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don't have such views.

Such numbers are a harsh dose of reality in a campaign for the history books. Obama, the first black candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, accepted the Democratic nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a seminal moment for a nation that enshrined slavery in its Constitution.

"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Stanford political scientist Paul Sniderman who helped analyze the exhaustive survey.

The pollsters set out to determine why Obama is locked in a close race with McCain even as the political landscape seems to favor Democrats. President Bush's unpopularity, the Iraq war and a national sense of economic hard times cut against GOP candidates, as does that fact that Democratic voters outnumber Republicans.

The findings suggest that Obama's problem is close to home — among his fellow Democrats, particularly non-Hispanic white voters. Just seven in 10 people who call themselves Democrats support Obama, compared to the 85 percent of self-identified Republicans who back McCain.

The survey also focused on the racial attitudes of independent voters because they are likely to decide the election.

Lots of Republicans harbor prejudices, too, but the survey found they weren't voting against Obama because of his race. Most Republicans wouldn't vote for any Democrat for president — white, black or brown.

Not all whites are prejudiced. Indeed, more whites say good things about blacks than say bad things, the poll shows. And many whites who see blacks in a negative light are still willing or even eager to vote for Obama.

On the other side of the racial question, the Illinois Democrat is drawing almost unanimous support from blacks, the poll shows, though that probably wouldn't be enough to counter the negative effect of some whites' views.

Race is not the biggest factor driving Democrats and independents away from Obama. Doubts about his competency loom even larger, the poll indicates. More than a quarter of all Democrats expressed doubt that Obama can bring about the change they want, and they are likely to vote against him because of that.

Three in 10 of those Democrats who don't trust Obama's change-making credentials say they plan to vote for McCain.

Still, the effects of whites' racial views are apparent in the polling.

Statistical models derived from the poll suggest that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage points higher if there were no white racial prejudice.

But in an election without precedent, it's hard to know if such models take into account all the possible factors at play.

The AP-Yahoo News poll used the unique methodology of Knowledge Networks, a Menlo Park, Calif., firm that interviews people online after randomly selecting and screening them over telephone. Numerous studies have shown that people are more likely to report embarrassing behavior and unpopular opinions when answering questions on a computer rather than talking to a stranger.

Other techniques used in the poll included recording people's responses to black or white faces flashed on a computer screen, asking participants to rate how well certain adjectives apply to blacks, measuring whether people believe blacks' troubles are their own fault, and simply asking people how much they like or dislike blacks.

"We still don't like black people," said John Clouse, 57, reflecting the sentiments of his pals gathered at a coffee shop in Somerset, Ohio.

Given a choice of several positive and negative adjectives that might describe blacks, 20 percent of all whites said the word "violent" strongly applied. Among other words, 22 percent agreed with "boastful," 29 percent "complaining," 13 percent "lazy" and 11 percent "irresponsible." When asked about positive adjectives, whites were more likely to stay on the fence than give a strongly positive assessment.

Among white Democrats, one third cited a negative adjective and, of those, 58 percent said they planned to back Obama.

The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites."

Those who agreed with that statement were much less likely to back Obama than those who didn't.

Among white independents, racial stereotyping is not uncommon. For example, while about 20 percent of independent voters called blacks "intelligent" or "smart," more than one third latched on the adjective "complaining" and 24 percent said blacks were "violent."

Nearly four in 10 white independents agreed that blacks would be better off if they "try harder."

The survey broke ground by incorporating images of black and white faces to measure implicit racial attitudes, or prejudices that are so deeply rooted that people may not realize they have them. That test suggested the incidence of racial prejudice is even higher, with more than half of whites revealing more negative feelings toward blacks than whites.

Researchers used mathematical modeling to sort out the relative impact of a huge swath of variables that might have an impact on people's votes — including race, ideology, party identification, the hunger for change and the sentiments of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's backers.

Just 59 percent of her white Democratic supporters said they wanted Obama to be president. Nearly 17 percent of Clinton's white backers plan to vote for McCain.

Among white Democrats, Clinton supporters were nearly twice as likely as Obama backers to say at least one negative adjective described blacks well, a finding that suggests many of her supporters in the primaries — particularly whites with high school education or less — were motivated in part by racial attitudes.

The survey of 2,227 adults was conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 5. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Well...I'm sure you may have noticed that we did not broadcast this evening but all is not for naught as we will be returning this Tuesday to discuss the goings on from the previous week. Monday, the Comic Shoppe show will air with Max, Daryll and yours truly waxing and pontificating on all things comic book and sci-fi related. More specifically, we will utilize our graphic novel honed microscopes to discuss the premiere episodes of Fringe and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. We will also chop it up about the latest comic book phenomenon concerning the release and subsequent recall of All Star Batman & Robin #10. And of course the show will include our regular analysis of our favorite comic book reads from last week. So don't be shy-call us "live" (tomorrow at 7pm eastern) at 646-200-0104 or via email/IM-thecomicshoppe@yahoo.

And now for this upcoming Tuesday'sAfronerd Radio airing. Perhaps this will be the "better late than never" episode as we will be a bit off schedule in discussing some of last week's mishaps. First up, a GOP/Family Council sponsored exhibitor has been accused of racism for a Obama as Uncle Jemima redux (check the above clip for excuses....ahem, facts). We will also discuss the Obama/Palin lipstick pig flap and lastly, this past Friday's Dr. Phil Show in which the umpteenth n-word debate took place. And an Afronerd Comics "No-Prize" goes to the reader that can guess who were the usual suspects in attendance for this stellar gathering. Remember check us out live on Tuesday (just this once) at 7pm eastern-call us at 646-915-9620 or via email/IM-afronerdradio@yahoo. Be there, Be Square and always Be aware!

Friday, September 12, 2008

The graphic video above shows an attack that occurred on a Philadelphia subway last week. Philadelphia police arrested Thomas Scantling, 26 year-old with a criminal history, and charged him with attempted murder.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the attack is that nobody on the subway, and there were a number of fellow passengers, did nothing to protect 20 year-old Dewayne Taylor as he was being attacked. He received numerous stitches and a broken finger and says he does not know his attacker or have any idea why he was targeted.

As the video shows, Thomas Scantling ushers his 5-year-old son to a seat before taking a hammer out of his backpack and attacking Dewayne Taylor who is sitting in another seat. The fight continues onto a subway platform where Scantling allegedly tried to throw Taylor onto the tracks.

Police arrested Thomas Scantling at a mental hospital on Tuesday. Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey said of the passive bystanders: "They better pray they're never a victim, because if someone was attacking them that way, they would certainly hope someone would step forward and help, and it starts with stepping forward and doing something yourself."

Reports are saying that this guy was upset that others were too close to him and his son.And to be honest I'm not sure about the "stepping forward" part, unless you were armed yourself, although you would hope that someone would help. Clearly this guy was trying to kill the victim with that hammer, and last time I checked, a hammer versus your fists is far from a fair fight.

Monday, September 08, 2008

I just wanted to share a few things with our readers to get your blood boiling and to perhaps get some insight on your thoughts on these issues. First up, political inconsistency courtesy of John Stewart's Daily Show or the more aptly named Sex, Lies and Videotape-the 2008 edition:

Next-Will Smith as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America? Say it ain't so! Let's hope that he is offered the Isaiah Bradley (the Tuskegee Experiment version of Cap, from The Truth graphic novel series) role. I'm all for open-minded casting choices but this would be a stretch.

And to further bounce around from politics and geekdom topics, check out this funky confrontation between my fellow conservatives of color (at last week's RNC-not their finest moment) and Youtube's popular progressive bunch, The Young Turks:

Shay Riley of the Booker Rising blog was as expected, highly poised but the gentleman from the Hip Hop Republican site was disappointing. But hey.....these things happen.Check out part two, this time with another member of the Hip Hop Republican team who was far more amenable:

Sunday, September 07, 2008

It's radio intensive weekend folks! Let's get into it-join me at 7pm tonight (eastern) on Afronerd Radio'sWeek in Review to discuss the following: The battle of the conventions-a week later, thoughts on McCain's VP pick, Governor Palin and the latest drama involving Palin and Oprah. You guys (and gals) should know the drill by now-call us "live" at 646-915-9620 or via IM/email-afronerdradio@yahoo.

And let's not forget about Monday'sComic Shoppe broadcast, also at 7pm eastern. Legendary graphic novel/animation writer, Dwayne McDuffie stops by the Shoppe to "chop it up" with Max, Daryll and I regarding the reemergence of Milestone Media. And feel free to share your comments and questions "live" at 646-200-0104 or via email/IM-thecomicshoppe@yahoo.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

I wanted to take a few days to let McCain’s choice of Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin for the VP spot to marinate in my thoughts before I formally weighed in on the issue. Well a few days have passed and the consensus is that either Senator McCain’s choice was a stroke of genius or a grave miscalculation. Our readers are well aware that this is a conservative blog but in this one historical instance, we are supporting Senator Obama in spite of his progressive politics. In essence, his personal story and ability to breach this quintessential glass ceiling still manages to fulfill the core tenant of Black conservatism. In my estimation, Palin as VP appears to indeed be a miscalculation.

Instead of focusing on the Iraq conflict or America’s dwindling economic status, the media are having an OCD fit over the teenage pregnancy of Palin’s daughter, Bristol. And what happens to the conservative argument that Obama is too green (and no not environmental reference) to be POTUS when Governor Palin's resume is equally dubious? Perhaps we should take the high road like Obama and insist that Palin’s family drama should not be allowed to obfuscate the political process. Those are lofty sentiments but the media smells blood and I suspect that this story will be with us for a while. Does anyone remember the “baby mama” remarks that Fox News made about Michelle Obama? Where are they on this debacle? If this isn’t a candidate for a Maury Povich anniversary special, I don’t know what is! But never underestimate the ability of the lower tier cultural elite to say their piece (as opposed to remaining silent)-enter P. Diddy. Let’s hear from our informed readers-what do you guys think?

Oh here is video of the esteemed Mr. Combs doing what he does best-highlight his lack of intelligence:

Monday, September 01, 2008

Didn't we just do a show on how the Church impedes African-American progress? And in less than 24 hours, a new story is brewing that confirms the aforementioned supposition. There just can't be any irony or coincidence that right after Obama has experienced a boost in the polls, Reverend Jeremiah Wright miraculously appears. Check out the New York Post's take on Wright's recent sermon, which was held in Houston:

"This ordinary boy [Obama] just might be the first president in the history of the United States to have a black woman sleeping at 1600 Pennsylvania legally," Wright said, referring to Michelle Obama, in a sermon at the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston.

It was unclear whether Wright was making a reference to prostitution, to old miscegenation laws, or to the history of illicit interracial sex under slavery.

Wright's remarks yesterday were full of praise for Obama - although several times, he referred to Obama as a "boy" who later developed into an extraordinary person, through God's work and, presumably, Wright's guidance.

"The lord turned the ordinary into the extraordinary. Y'all just saw it this past week. It was on national television," Wright said to applause.

"An ordinary black boy raised in a single-parent home . . . walked into my office 20 years ago to talk about his dream for a community that concentrated on things that we could achieve in common."

As Obama's longtime minister, Wright married Barack and Michelle, and the couple worshiped at Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago until Wright's controversial sermons became public knowledge during the campaign.

Wright gave an over-the-top press conference that ultimately prompted Obama to leave the church this spring, after Wright blamed the United States for concocting the HIV virus and railed against US imperialism.

Wright also accused Obama of posturing in his criticism of Wright's sermons, saying, "If Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected. Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls."

Obama said afterward that he was "outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw."

In recent weeks, Obama has worshipped at various churches in towns on his campaign schedule, as he did at a Lutheran church in Lima, Ohio, yesterday.

In sermons that caused the initial uproar when they emerged on video, Wright blamed the United States for the 9/11 attacks and boomed, "God damn America."

And on a lighter note, check out Spike Lee at the DNC Convention last week and yet another shirt I must get: